It's Valentine's Month! And what better month to meditate on God's love for us than this month. So cut our your paper hearts and locate your paper doilies (if only in your imagination) to help us remember the greatest love every known. The greatest Lover of our souls that exists in all eternity. [Gushy and sappy enough for ya? ;). Honestly, sometimes when I get caught up in it I do feel like a hopeless romantic. Except I'm not hopeless. I've put my hope in the deepest, most powerful love we could ever know. And we don't know the half of it. It's an ongoing journey into places of His love we will never get to the end of. And it's good.]
Psalm 48:9 We have thought on Thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple.
Psalm 101:1 I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, To Thee, O LORD, I will sing praises.
Psalm 107:43 Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things; and consider the lovingkindness of the LORD.
The Psalmist talks about thinking on God's lovingkindness and singing about it. He talks about giving heed or paying attention to it. And if this is good enough to the writers of the Psalms, it should be good for us today.
If we meditate on His lovingkindness enough, perhaps our own hearts will break out into a song. Or not. Maybe poetry or prose or art or dance or whatever inspires you.
But you've gotta meditate on it a bit. You gotta get more out of it than what you have in the past, that is if you want to know Him more. His lovingkindness is unfathomable, but even so, He calls us to walk in it and know it. He calls us to try to at least fathom a part of it. Remember Ephesians 3:19 from Knowing God 4. to know the love of God which surpasses knowledge....
You gotta at least try.
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7 comments:
Mara,
Yes! Such a sweet calling, isn't it? Thanks for giving me a refuge for my thoughts to dwell within today. =)
You know, Shadow...
There is such a push by certain groups to disect scripture in such a way that men can obtain power over their wives/women.
In many circles, only men are allowed to teach and preach and these men find scriptures they like and they teach those scriptures to each other and to their women that puts the woman in a lesser place than what God has called her to.
On other sites, like NLQ, Charis's blog, women are going after those scriptures and trying to counter balance the off-balance teaching that these men have spun scripture to be.
I go to those sites, and I learn. But let me tell you, and I feel you understand...
The Bible is sooooo full of sooooo many uplifting scriptures for men, women, and children, it's a crying shame to only focus on the ones men love and women hate.
Patriarchy and compism have taken their favorite scriptures, put them on a scale and then weighed down that scale with their thumbs giving those scriptures far more weight that they deserve.
I still think it is essential for women to deal with those 'favorite' scriptures of patriacrhy and compism. And I read and learn...
But I'm getting to the place that I don't want to overfocus on those few dozen (if that many!)scriptures but would rather find the hundreds upon hundreds that talk about how awesome God it.
It's in knowing His greatness and love for me that I will be able to do anything in this world for Him. It's not in knowing my gender 'place'. But knowing His love that makes the difference.
Sorry for the soapbox.
It's just that sometimes we overlook God's goodness because the badness, twistedness of the human race gets in the way.
Thanks for the comment.
His boundless love means more to me all the time.
Keep writing Mara, I'm reading,
what I saw today, see here:
http://blog.cbeinternational.org/2010/01/no-condemnation/comment-page-1/#comment-90740
and 90741
I don't know really how to say it, or really IF I should say anything at all, but I'm at this place you see, not sure where to go from here, its new territory...
the other day, I kept listening to this song, The New Divide, by Lincoln Park, it was one of my 'bad' days, heart wise,
but I knew, I was coming to a place, remember I mentioned truth? Well, I don't know, really except that, its not in 'words' you know,
so Mara, I am starting from scratch, from zero--His hand, taking mine...and well, guess that is it.
here's the song, funny thing too, its the song on the movie Transformers, you know, being transformed in Christ, LOL,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HzNfwAt790
Truth, you know Mara, I did the same thing, with other issues, that the comps do with gender----we can be just as guilty, being on the right side,
knowledge of good and evil, that Lie,
but that good, will never be approved by God, it isn't, Life. Evil is always present with me, Paul said...
its in the Being--not,the application. Removing the board, you know, from the eye...of the heart. It's new, from here...old is passed away--on a deeper level, from scratch, by Faith,
and its yea, a little scary, but that's ok. Self, never can save Self.
Love you,
Jane
The only sermon I ever preached was in missionary candidate school in 1987. I preached on Psalm 23 and the word study I incorporated was on chesed-lovingkindness. The message was well received and I still remember the depth in that one word.
One of my favorite prayers for my children over the past 10 years or so has been that they will KNOW the length and breadth and height and depth of the LOVE of Christ, which SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE?!?!?!
I can feel His love. It is indescribable.
aka Charis
Mara, I replied here, but I want the others to see to, and will explain why,
http://homesewersneedleworkersunion-hsnwu.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-jesus-shows-you-light-you-see-and.html
On the dreams, etc., I wanted to share but at the Same time, because I KNOW what it is to walk in that dark valley and for so long just be dying of thirst, and the rage I sometimes would feel when reading the 'positives' and 'optimists' esp about God's Love and Lovingkindness,
it is So important to share too, that like Job says, yes, His goodness but do we not accept adversity too? For so long I ached for the lovingkindness, and actually I, being 'negative' and having to Unlearn that/that base nature, IF not for that,
I don't know if I would have taken seriously, affliction like I did and well, to see the need in the world, etc. But more than that, the being broken/pride to get to the place of that divide, like in that song, to SEE not just sin, but that horrible 'nature', of who/I really am, it's no picnic but I am finding, necessary, that flesh to be stripped away, to be in that place, of Knowing, the Fear of the Lord and to KNOW that He means business, on so much--and Why, so, I guess what I am saying,
while I want to share/and glorify Him, I do not, want to rub salt in wounds either, I've been there, it hurts, it really does, and so, I do think about these things and I do reflect on them. I've been on my face too many times, in fear, agony, despondency, to know its utter foolishness, to get confident, fallen on my ass too many times, you know,
that includes in the revelations and seeing God's loving kindness too. I'm sorting through these waters, not trying to be negative, but, not trying to give off this impression either that oh life is just so easy as a Christian and optimist and yada yada,
its a lot of walking through and in thorns, being purged, broken, lifted up, broken again, I guess you get to the point where you see its truly, Dependence on Him, and Nothing more. With each kind gift, there is always the adversity too, the love and nurture with the chastisement,
He told me, other day, that is what a Father does. Not having had a Father, the first time, I understood, just a little, but its new territory for me, and yea,
a little scary at times.
Love, Jane
Mara,
Yes, the Bible is full of many uplifting, precious messages to all!
Can't neglect to snuggle up to the Good Shepherd in those green pastures, beside those still waters. Ah, that's the life!
Only one sermon, Charis?
This world deserves many more.
Wait, you have several blogs and are reaching many more with those than you did with that one sermon.
I thank God for you, Jane, Shadow, and many more women speaking out against injustice.
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